Former Maldive Gas MD Abdullah Maumoon sentenced to 12 years

Former Managing Director of Maldive Gas, Abdullah Maumoon, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after being convicted of bribery on two counts.

The charges are from incidents back in 2016, during the previous PPM government, when Maumoon was the Managing Director of the state-owned company, Maldive Gas. He is being charged with a total of seven charges, out of which the Criminal Court found him guilty on two counts.

For each count, he was sentenced to six years, four months, and 24 days, bringing the total sentence to 12 years, nine months, and 18 days.

Under the Penal Code, the minimum sentence for a bribery conviction is three years, two months, and 12 days in jail.

Maumoon still has five additional charges that are yet to be tried. The verdicts on those charges were not announced today.

According to sources, Maumoon appeared in court under police remand but had not yet been formally arrested.

Following the end of the PPM administration, Maumoon had been living abroad for several years while the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) investigated multiple allegations against him. He returned to Maldives voluntarily last year after the Prosecutor General’s Office filed formal charges. Since his return, he has been barred from leaving the country.

This sentencing comes a day after the Criminal Court handed a four-year prison term to former Fenaka Corporation MD Mohamed Saeed, who was convicted of using his position to obtain undue benefits.